Advent Meditations: Monday 11 December

Dec 11, 2017 by

Mon
Dec 11
am: 25
pm: 9, 15
Amos 7:1-9 Rev 1:1-8 Matt 22:23-33

MONDAY OF ADVENT II: St. Damascus, Bishop and Defender of the Faith, 384

Notes on thIS DAY IN THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR: As a deacon secretary to the Bishop of Rome, Damasus was elected as his successor during a time of internal political struggle, doctrinal heresies, uneasy relations with other bishop due to the rising wave of heresy and the still uneasy relationship between the Church East and West. His lifestyle was simple in contrast to other ecclesiastics of Rome, and he was fierce in his denunciation of Arianism and other heresies. A misunderstanding of the Trinitarian terminology used by Rome threatened amicable relations with the Eastern Church, and Damasus was only moderately successful in dealing with that challenge. During his tenure Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman state (380), and Latin became the principal liturgical language as part of the pope’s reforms. His encouragement of St. Jerome’s led to a renewal of biblical studies.

SCRIPTURAL MEDITATIONDavid in Psalm 15 describes a man who lives a life that seems beyond what any of us could ever accomplish. He is a person of unrivaled devoted to the Lord a person who knows how to live for the Lord. The Psalmist writes of a person who never seeks reward, he wants no gain nor needs no pay. This man has found his own soul . The Psalmist writes of a person who is blameless and righteous. A model of grace and virtue. It is the very qualities a disciple should aspire to and the very qualities which Jesus embodies. Jesus’ essence is found in his “being the person for others.” Through his incarnation, Jesus becomes radically available to humanity and , Christian faith is “participation in this being of Jesus.

PRAYER:, O Lord, this Advent may we understand the call to be the person for others. Grant us the grace of transformation, as we seek for your true power found in the Incarnation, of your Son, who brings us true meaning and purpose. Help us to embrace a love that embraces all and enriches all. Amen

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE OR ACTIVITY – Look for those persons who have embraced the spirit of this Psalm in your life. Share your impressions of how they live out this grace and see if they are willing to share with your reflections that a=may echo the Psalm.

ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE:  The experience that a transformation of all human life is given in the fact that “Jesus is there only for others.” His “being there for others” is the experience of transcendence” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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